Vacuum Infusion Questions

[Ralf]

Hi, I am going to attempt vacuum infusion for the first time next week and have a few questions before I start.
For the resin trap can I just use a bucket with a plastic sheet taped over the top. Does anyone have a better suggestion?
I am also going to use a bucket hold the resin before it enters the mold. The bucket will be less then half full with resin so there will be a relativly large air pocket. This air will enter the mold when the resin feed line is opened. Is this a problem? Do I need a container that is only just big enough to hold the resin so there is no excess air?

[riff42]

1: you would need something solid to cover your resin trap. Unless you have a way that the vacuum will not suck the bag into the bucket, it will not work. Remember, ideally the pressure on that bag over the resin trap will have 14 pounds of pressure per square inch of area. Use a solid piece of wood/metal/plastic/etc.
2: I'm unsure of what you mean by having a large amount of air in your resin bucket......the inlet tube should be at the bottom of the resin!! not at the top of the bucket, sucking the air in.

[Fan O' Zakk]

I made a super bush league resin trap from a Cheese Whiz jar once.

Use hose barb fittings with threaded fittings on opposite end. Drill two holes in top of lid, so that threaded fittings will thread tightly into holes. Assemble with silicone sealant. Apply silicone sealant to jar threads to ensure seal when jar is closed.

Hook the vacuum line to one of the fittings, and your part to the other.

I added a third fitting for a vacuum gauge, as well.

Good luck!

[riff42]

haa....that is awesome!
I think any good glass jar would work. Heck, even a steel can with a sealed plate on the open end would work. As long as it's solid and doesn't implode at 14.7psi atm!

[TET]

Or one could just use a container that doesn't have air space inside but allows a lot of resin to collect. No jars or buckets here.

[Fan O' Zakk]

Alright TET, your riddle has me baffled. What do you have in mind?

[riff42]

a square foot of airweave in a bag?